I have a theory that sometimes you don’t know just how much you appreciate something until it’s gone, such as when you finish a bar of chocolate and hate that there is none left.
I was reminded of that theory last week when The Daily Show had no new episodes for a week, showing re-runs instead. I’ve applauded the wit of Jon Stewart and The Daily Show writers before, both when reviewing their book and in recapping the show.
What’s the saying about absence making the heart grow fonder? Well, the absence of The Daily Show made my body deficient in wit and needed laughs. It’s a daily staple of humor, as Johnny Carson famously was for many people for decades. Fortunately I had conveniently ordered, via Netflix, the three-DVD set from The Daily Show’s coverage of the 2004 election: Indecision 2004. So while there were no new episodes on I could still watch some of the best political commentary around.
The DVDs proved what I have been telling everyone I know for years: Stewart and his writers and correspondents are funnier, sharper, and more clever than any other show talking about the news. I am going to give a few examples from the third disc.
But first I want to mention that the first two DVDs cover the Democratic and the Republican conventions. If you, like me, are sick of reading news coverage about an election that is still more than one year away then these DVDs provide relief of a sort as they remind you just how funny and absurd much of this election process is.
Having laughed a bit about the political process somehow makes reading the news more palatable. Plus I’ve started reading the newspaper while at a bar and I find that helps make some sense of world and political news. But I digress...
My three favorite parts of the third disk:
1. The footage of Sen. John Edwards announcing, on The Daily Show, that he is running for the presidency. Edwards had promised he would make that announcement on the show when he made a decision on whether to run. Stewart then said there is something important he needs to tell Edwards.
“We’re a fake show," Stewart said. "So I want you to know that this may not count. It’s sort of like, have you ever been married in Vegas? You may have to do this again… Do you have plans to announce this again in another more professional environment?" Edwards was great about the whole thing and it's a fun bit of The Daily Show history.
Article comments
1 - Amrita
I love TDS and have been hooked from the first show I ever saw. The great thing about it is its continued level of writing despite losing people like Colbert, Carrell (although frankly the best thing he ever did on that show was Steven vs. Stephen), etc.
The only problem with TDS is that its on Comedy Central, a channel owned by a company that has no idea what to do about the demographic it attracts. They know its a good audience to have but pulling silly stunts like the Youtube one isn't winning them fans and in my opinion, its putting a cap on the audience it could attract.
2 - Waiting for Craig Kilborn
I dunno. The current daily show isn't exactly Johnny Carson-esque. Johnny Carson didn't get too political on his show because he didn't want to split the audience. Thats why Leno has more viewers than Letterman, and thats why the TDS ratings are dropping.